ByLydia Geisel,Photography byMichael Clifford
PublishedMay 22, 2023 1:05 AM EDT
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Domino Reno: Before + Afters, DIYs, and Advice From Pros Who’ve Seen Things
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Some things, once seen, cannot be unseen—and the boob light is one of them. The quintessential landlord’s special, this mass-produced fixture earned its cheeky nickname from its dome silhouette and, well, protruding tip, and it tops the list of features homeowners and renters love to gripe about. But recently, interior designer Shannon McLaren of Prairie Interiors made a surprisingly strong case for a pointy flush mount—and honestly, we don’t want to unsee it.
‘I told myself I had to go minimal, cool, and aggressively anti-McMansion,’ says McLaren, recalling the dining room reno in her 2000s-built Newport Beach, California, home. The space previously sported a gaudy chandelier that matched what she called the ‘bad Coto de Caza, Mediterranean’ vibe—decidedly not her jam. After swathing the walls in a glistening, fishy Pierre Frey wallpaper, she had her electrician swap the old light for Hay’s Matin flush mount, or ‘the new boob light,’ as she so brilliantly dubbed it on her Instagram Stories. ‘It’s not some grand statement; it’s a simple hall light that I just thought was cute and cheerful,’ she explains.
The $200 find was originally dreamed up by French designer Inge Sempé and sports a pleated cotton shade plus a painted steel bracket so you can mount it on the ceiling or the wall (yes, it moonlights as a sconce). The flat-packed fixture hides two bulbs for that soft, ambient glow—and if you want to drop in LED dimmables, it’s totally game. It’s hardwired, but anyone with electrical know-how can assemble it without tears. We never thought we’d see the day, but we’re not even a little mad about it.
Chris and Julia Marcum technically designed this scalloped cutie for a nursery, but we not-so-secretly want it for our own grown-up bedrooms.
A hit of rattan delivers some much-needed texture to a sad, flat white ceiling.
This conical number is the splurge-y cousin of McLaren’s Hay pick. Designed in 1945 by Tage Klint, it flaunts his signature hand-folded pleating.
If it’s the boob light’s pointy tip that ruins it for you, go for a disk silhouette—it reads more ‘space shuttle’ than ‘body part.’
Lydia Geisel has been on the Domino editorial team since 2017. These days she writes and edits home and renovation stories—house tours, before and afters, DIYs—and runs our design news coverage. She lives in New York City, where square footage is a cruel joke but the inspiration is endless.
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